Lateral Marketing

Book excerpt: A revolutionary new system for generating the next big marketing ideas and opportunities According to Philip Kotler, the widely acknowledged "father" of modern marketing, and Fernando Trias de Bes the marketing techniques pioneered in the 1960s and '70s have worked too well. Fierce competition among products with little or nothing to distinguish one from another, along with modern product positioning and targeted marketing techniques, have led to increasing market segmentation. If the trend continues, individual market segments soon will be too small to be profitable. In Lateral Marketing, Kotler and Trias de Bes unveil a revolutionary new model to help readers expand beyond vertical segmentation and generate fresh marketing ideas and opportunities. Philip Kotler (Chicago, IL) is the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Fernando Trias de Bes (Barcelona, Spain) is the founder of Salvetti & Llombart whose clients include Pepsico, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Nestlé, Credit Suisse, and other top corporations.